ULA wins US Air Force contract to launch STP-3 in 2019

The U.S. Air Force announced Thursday they awarded United Launch Agency the contract to launch the Space Test Program-3 mission at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in 2019. The United Launch Agency, or ULA, will provide launch vehicle production, mission integration, launch operations and spaceflight certification in a firm fixed-price, standalone contract valued at $191,141,581, according to an announcement by the U.S. Air Force. Last August, the U.S. Air Force debuted the competition for launch operations between ULA and SpaceX, which had won a contract earlier in the year to launch a GPS satellite, according to Space News . The Space Test Program-3, or STP-3, mission consists of a primary space vehicle, known as the STPSat-6, and a propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter, known as the ESPA. The ESPA utilizes excess launch capabil...